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Officials explain landfill rezone process

Maury County officials want to shed some light on the county’s rezoning process because of questions arising from a controversial landfill proposal.

County Zoning Coordinator Deborah Boehms said representatives of RLF Duck River LLC and RLF Green Duck — the Colorado-based companies proposing the use of a site off Monsanto Road as a landfill — have not refiled any paperwork regarding a rezoning or land use exceptions for the property.

Since the proposal for the landfill was withdrawn at the Sept. 11 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, Boehms said the companies must resubmit all of their applications to move forward.

“With them withdrawing this, I think maybe they are doing more research themselves before they resubmit,” she said.

The property where the landfill has been proposed is currently zoned M-2, or a heavy industrial district. The companies want to rezone the property as M-3, or special industrial district, and they are seeking a special use for the property. Special use exceptions for M-3 properties are required for entities like landfills, adult businesses and other uses not covered by zoning standards.

Boehms said there are already properties zoned M-3 in the county, but none of them are as big as the 845-acre parcel where the landfill site is proposed. However, she said, properties legally must be at least five acres of land to qualify for M-3 zoning.

“This is probably the biggest rezoning request I have seen in the eight years I have been here,” she said.

Tom Hardin, the attorney representing the two companies seeking to rezone the property, said there is “no timeline” on when any future filings for land use exceptions will be made.

“As far as I know the property owners are continuing to evaluate the overall situation,” Hardin said. “Anything we will file will be in conformity with the requirements of the county.”

Questions arose at the Sept. 11 BZA meeting over whether or not the companies were following the proper procedure with their exception request. Attorneys representing anti-landfill group Preserve Maury and owners of properties neighboring the proposed landfill site argued the companies should first rezone the property from M-2 to M-3 before seeking any exception to M-3 zoning.

A petition against the landfill proposal sponsored by Preserve Maury has garnered more than 1,600 signatures.

Hardin said he is “satisfied” the proper procedure is being followed in making the filings.

Boehms said, to her knowledge, the companies were following a process put in place by the Maury County Commission in 2006. Boehms said the procedure states entities must first go to the Board of Zoning appeals to get a special permission for property uses like landfills.

Part of the procedure for a BZA hearing is notifying neighboring property owners of an intent to rezone or apply for a zoning exception, Boehms said. Though these property owners were already notified for the first meeting, Boehms said they will have to be notified again as the withdrawal of the proposal restarted the entire rezoning process.

If the companies reapply and an exception is approved, Boehms said they would then proceed to the Maury County Regional Planning Commission with a preliminary site plan for approval. Boehms said the process was designed this way to cut costs.

“A site plan fee is $300, so if you go to the board of zoning and get the use approved, your next step is to do a preliminary approval at the planning commission level,” she said.

Boehms said the planning commission will either vote to recommend or not recommend the county commission approve the site plan. Boehms said a favorable or unfavorable recommendation from the planning commission does not always guarantee how the county commission will vote on a rezoning issue.

“Even if the planning commission does not give them a favorable recommendation, (the companies) can still go forward,” Boehms said. “They can still go to the county commission with a negative recommendation with the written request of the applicant.”

Additionally, Boehms said at least 15 days notice must be given before any piece of property in the county can be voted on for rezoning. Boehms said the days the rezoning is voted on and when the rezoning notice is published in the local newspaper are not counted among the required notice period.

If the county commission approves the rezoning, Boehms said the company officials must then must go back to the planning commission with a final site plan for approval.

In the case of the proposed landfill, Boehms said any rezoning the county officials approved would also be entirely contingent upon the companies receiving a landfill permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Solid Waste.

“They would have to get a permit from the state for any landfill, and they need state approval from the Maury County legislative body,” Boehms said. “If you get your zoning in place but you don’t get the state permit, then you can’t do it.”

Boehms said the majority of the countywide zoning policies in place were set in 1986 when the county adopted zoning resolutions. While a few amendments have been made, Boehms said much of the zoning has not changed. Despite the fact that zoning has been in place for more than 25 years in Maury County, Boehms said not everyone is aware of it.

“A lot of people living in the incorporated part of the county believe there is no zoning in their area,” she said. “The county zoning applies to anything out of the city limit boundary, residential, commercial and industrial properties.”

Rezoning Process

Step 1: An exception request is filed before the Board of Zoning Appeals. If approved, the request will move forward to the Maury Regional Planning Commission.

Step 2: A $300 site plan fee is paid and the site plan is sent to the regional planning commission for a recommendation. The commission either votes to recommend or not to recommend the site plan to the county commission. If the planning commission does not recommend the site plan, the matter can still be brought before the county commission at the written request of the property owner.

Step 3: The county commission votes whether or not to rezone the property.

Step 4: If the county commission votes to rezone the property, the site plan is then sent back to the planning commission for approval.

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Rezoning Process

Step 1: An exception request is filed before the Board of Zoning Appeals. If approved, the request will move forward to the Maury Regional Planning Commission.

Step 2: A $300 site plan fee is paid and the site plan is sent to the regional planning commission for a recommendation. The commission either votes to recommend or not to recommend the site plan to the county commission. If the planning commission does not recommend the site plan, the matter can still be brought before the county commission at the written request of the property owner.

Step 3: The county commission votes whether or not to rezone the property.

Step 4: If the county commission votes to rezone the property, the site plan is then sent back to the planning commission for approval.

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